Situation-Based Shifts in Consumer Benefit Salience: the Joint Role of Affect and Cognition

This study addresses the process by which benefits become salient in consumers’ minds across usage situations. We explore two routes (cognitive and affective) by which the situation jointly influences benefit salience, in terms of both benefit importance and the number of salient benefits. We find support for the proposed dual route structure, indicating that individuals’ relative benefit importance ratings shift across usage situations both directly and indirectly through consumers’ positive affective state. We also find that more positive affect increases the number of salient benefits, providing insight as to why the number of salient benefits may vary across usage situations.